Arguably one of the best parts of Halloween season is watching the 1966 classic It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and so we thought it only fair to give you a heads up that it's on TONIGHT. Tune in to ABC at 8 p.m., where they'll run the "animated Halloween-themed PEANUTS special created by late cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, as well as a bonus PEANUTS cartoon, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, in which Linus runs for class president." Set those DVRs, and here's a little taste to get you in the spirit: more ›

At first, this video will probably tug on your heartstrings, and you may very well be filled with a hollow sadness, for the subway rider seen here does not seem to have all her wits about her (the videographer speculates she's on heroin), and she's dressed like Charlie Brown. But then, after about 20 seconds, the scene shifts from sad to mesmerizing and then something else entirely—an ode to the resiliency of the human spirit. All those fights about whether eating on the subway should be illegal become moot—this video is, above all things, a celebration of the five second rule. (And at least she wasn't licking her shoe.) more ›

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is airing on ABC tonight...set your DVRs, or sit yourself down at 8 p.m. sharp. The special is also available on YouTube, of course, but it's just not the same as seeing it in Prime Time. Stay tuned to see if this year Charlie Brown really does kick that football... more ›

The British motoring series Top Gear (Monday, 8:00 p.m., BBC America) has a world wide following and happens to be one of the funniest shows on television. It's sort of a combination of Monty Python, Mythbusters, Motorweek, and a talk show all rolled into one crazy hour of British madness with three crazy British hosts. This week, they add beautifully filmed travelogue and a bit of road movie to the mix as they journey to Africa. more ›

Anyone trying to plot the best subway route to serve their departure and destination points has long since given up on the MTA website, which for years has mostly confined itself to below-ground mapping and shown a remarkable disregard for how the subway actually corresponds with the street level. Sites such as Hopstop and OnNYturf have sprung up to fill the void with integrated mapping, but now they’ve got competition from some new improvements on the NYC Transit website. more ›

A look at some of this week's noteworthy television: more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., HBO) A look at America's favorite insult comic and last surviving member of the “Rat Pack”, the octogenarian Don Rickles from director John Landis. Everyone from Chris Rock to Bob Newhart to Clint Eastwood to Sidney Poitier talk about the comic. 1968 (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., History Channel) 1968 was a turbulent and tragic year and Tom Brokaw not... more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: Lincoln Center Tree Lighting 2007 (Monday, 5:30 p.m, WABC 7) Good Morning America’s Sam Champion and WABC’s Sade Baderinwa host the first televised tree lighting of the season. There will be some performances by Lincoln Center’s resident companies and some guest’s from channel 7’s owner Disney on hand for entertainment for the 8th annual Lincoln Center Holiday Tree lighting. America at a Crossroads (Monday, 9:00 p.m &... more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: 2007 American Music Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WABC 7) Most awards shows are basically useless and awards shows where people vote on line are even more so. This year this awards show invented by Dick Clark in 1973 gets even more useless. Jimmy Kimmel hosts. Nature: The Beauty of Ugly (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WNET 13; Wednesday, 8:00 p.m., WLIW 21) A look at some of the strangest... more ›

It's a Halloween Hump Day! We will have more details about the Halloween Parade and other events in the city later, but we thought we'd point you to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown videos on Youtube (part 1, 2, 3), in case you missed ABC's airing last night. You can also get it on DVD, and there's also the book It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

Late October is a the perfect time of the year to eat local zucchini blossoms, those fleshy, pale orange flowers that are often found stuffed or battered on fancy restaurant menus. The first part of this sentence would be true if zucchini plants were flowering now, but they’re not. Instead, consider the pumpkin blossom: Generally overlooked in the culinary world (like zucchini flowers once were before they were trendy), pumpkin blossoms are in incredible abundance this year, especially because there hasn’t yet been a lot of frost round these parts. There are many huge orange flowers still blooming on pumpkin vines out there, so either if you’re doing the whole Charlie Brown waiting game thing or going pumpkin picking somewhere on the outskirts of the city this weekend, there’s a really good chance you’ll be able to score a huge bag of flowers for cheap. If your friendly pumpkin patch guardian isn’t selling flowers up front, ask him or her if you might be able to borrow a few blossoms. Chances are the answer will be yes, and they might even be free. Once you get them home, keep them refrigerated unwashed and under a damp paper towel, the whole thing loosely wrapped in plastic wrap until you’re ready to cook them. more ›

I Dig Doug, a new production in this year’s Fringe Festival, concerns a status-obsessed uptown debutante who decides she should so get involved in presidential politics. When the farcical story begins, the unnamed teen (Karen DiConcetto, called Girl in the program) and her equally self-absorbed friend Nicole (Rochelle Zimmerman) are coasting along on their parents’ money, only mildly concerned about their imminent college application essays – Girl is smart enough to know that if they “can get into Bungalow 8” they can get into Harvard. But Girl’s perfect world is soon torn asunder when she discovers that her personal hero, a lovelorn reality TV star, is nothing more than a phony, craven opportunist. If a Girl can’t believe in reality TV, what can she believe in? more ›

A yuletide favorite since 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas, airs tomorrow night at 8pm (as we mentioned in yesterday's tv listing). Seem a little early? Hey, it's after Thanksgiving...so Christmas is only a hop, skip and jump away. We've been prepared for this since the seasonal lights went up on Orchard Street just after Halloween. more ›

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

Get ready for some helium action! The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons will be blown up tomorrow at 3PM on the Upper West Side. The blow-up is basically all around the American Museum of Natural History - along at 77th and 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus. There may be a helium shortage (who knew?), but planners know and have taken that into account. Just be sure to bundle up. more ›

A look at some noteworthy programs this week: more ›

• The search for Peter Braunstein continues, now into Brooklyn. Cobble Hill residents, be on the lookout!
• Bernie Kerik is either an idiot or took a huge discount on construction in his apartment, possibly both as renovations for his Riverdale pad were nearly $200k. 
• The MTA is adding intercoms to some stations. We're thinking the intercoms will sound like Charlie Brown's teacher.

For some reason, news that 130 of the 468 subway stations don't have public address sytems was shocking. Yes, all subway stations should have PA systems so riders waiting for trains can be alerted of emergencies or even just basically train re-routing issues, but given the crap condition of many stations, it's more a confirmation that the MTA needs to be prodded into doing more. And the truth is, we'd say that of the remaining 336 stations with PA systems, perhaps only 200 of them have intelligible PA systems - when the announcements come on, sometimes it sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher - "something something something police investigation something something something delay something something something." The MTA says that PA systems werent' part of some station designs and that they would be added; the Daily News adds that previous upgrading projects have been more about track infrastructure. Okay, tracks are probably more important than PA systems, but we dream that the MTA can do it all one day. more ›

During yesterday's Crain's New York sponsored forum, mayoral candidates tried to stake out their positions in the crowded field people who just wanna beat Mayor Mike. To summarize: Representative Anthony Weiner attacked former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's plan to tax stock transactions; Ferrer attacked the Mayor's rehaul of the school system; City Council Speaker Gifford Miller talked about transit issues; Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields spoke about education and community-police relations. And all candidates attacked Wal-Mart's intentions to move into NYC. Yeah, it's sadly still sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher. The NY Times' also notes that Fields and Ferrer's jabs show that their "non-aggression pact" has fallen to the wayside, which makes sense for Fields, since she probably wants to try to beat Ferrer. In the next month, Gothamist hopes someone will step up. more ›

Yesterday, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade went off without a hitch. Spongebob Squarepants, Pikachu, Super Grover, and more friends were guided down Manhattan to Herald Square, accompanied by clowns, marching bands, floats, and other performers. In fact, many people were caught with their coats tied around their waists, what with 64 degree weather. And the lovely weather is credited for making sure 2.5 million people turned out for the parade! The NY Times noted that children would scream the names of balloons to get their attention - funny thing, it's what Gothamist did, except from our living room. The NY Post says that Mayor Bloomberg was "ecstatic" and that his favorite balloon in Charlie Brown. Hmm, that says a lot. more ›

(available to rent on DVD via Netflix, no less), most people prefer that sensation of wanting to hide behind their seat in the movie theater at the end of October. more ›

And, of course, Blossom, Buttercup and Bubble must save the day. more ›

The Post lists what New Yorkers can do this Halloween in the city, ranging from various parties at night clubs (Avalon, Maritime Hotel, Suede) and churches (St. John the Divine) to dog parades...even a call to your dentist. more ›

Page Six shows its true colors by calling any celebrity who does not support war a "Saddam lover." Gothamist does like the Post for its crazy right wing tabloidism, but this is stupid - we'd like to see proof that these celebrities truly are Saddam lovers, preferably in easily uploadable images. more ›